


The Dearest

by kishidanchougoroshi



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Drama & Romance, Fic Exchange, Friendship/Love, Gen, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 19:31:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12065547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kishidanchougoroshi/pseuds/kishidanchougoroshi
Summary: Nino and Aiba hadn’t met each other for six years because Nino was the one who disappeared. When they met again, Nino found that what he felt for Aiba hadn’t changed. With the help from the mangaka whom Nino was working for, they travelled together to Hokkaido and knew that their friendship wasn’t the same anymore.





	The Dearest

“Another cup noodle, huh?”  
  
Nino lifted his head to look at his friend’s face. He turned his gaze towards his cup noodle in his hands; there was nothing wrong with it, he had always loved noodles, particularly the instant ones. They were yummy - easy to make and easy to get. Why should anyone complain about him having cup noodle for lunch?  
  
“You should eat something real, Nino,” Jun said, glancing at the cup noodle in Nino’s hand with a critical look, as if it had done something horrible to him.  
  
“It’s none of your concern. Besides, it’s cheap and convenient. My favorite things,” Nino replied, opening the cup noodle and smelling its delicious scent.  
  
Jun had always done things properly, from the way he dressed to the things he ate. He never wore the same clothes twice, even if they didn’t need to meet any clients. Jun was tall and handsome. His long, curly hair was always combed neatly, sometimes employing hair clips to hold his bangs out of his eyes. His eyes were pretty beneath his thick eyebrows, and his skin was fair and Nino was sure that Jun had taken care of it very carefully.  
  
Nino, on the other hand, was just a simple guy. He wasn’t tall or handsome, he rarely paid attention to his clothes, and his is dark hair was too long and needed to be cut. He wore glasses, which made him look like a nerd. Compared to Jun’s fair complexion, Nino was pale. In other words, he was the complete opposite of Jun.  
  
Jun brought a lunch box with different food each day, and he loved to show it to Nino, telling him to do the same - for his health.  
  
“Ohno sensei is not having lunch with us,” Jun mumbled, looking at his lunch box with sad eyes. He was a big fan of Ohno. So was Nino; that was the reason he worked for him for these last five years.  
  
Both of them were the assistants to the  _mangaka_ , Nino was a senior to Jun who had just joined a year ago after the veteran assistant quitted. Jun was in charge of writing the dialogue, while Nino was responsible for the background scenes. Jun was probably not the best colleague ever, but they worked very well together. Jun rarely complained, even when Ohno told him to rewrite all the dialogue overnight.  
  
Ohno Satoshi was a mysterious person. He loved working in a locked room, only coming out to give them directions on what kind of situation he would write for the next chapter. He didn’t talk much, as though his idea would flee if he spoke. Nino didn’t know a single thing about Ohno’s private life – although maybe his hobby of drawing erotic characters in his free time could be considered personal information.  
  
Nino dared himself to apply for the assistant job as soon as he finished his course in a manga school. He wasn’t the best in his class, but with a combination of destiny and luck, he was accepted to assist Ohno.  
  
“Maybe he’s drawing himself another porn,” Nino shrugged, slurping his noodles.  
  
Jun blushed at Nino’s words; he respected Ohno too much and hated the fact that the Sensei acted outside of this character.  
  
“I’ll bring a lunch box for you tomorrow. Your cup noodle has killed my appetite,” he said, standing and leaving Nino alone.  
  
“Whatever,” Nino said.  
  
Jun was also a mystery to him. Sometimes he could be the nicest person on earth, but usually he was a nuisance - he loved lecturing Nino as if he was the older one. Sometimes, Nino wondered why his life was full of weird people.  
  
Speaking of weird…It had been six years since he met that guy for the last time. He wondered where and what he was doing.  
  
Nino threw the empty cup into the trash bin and followed Jun inside. It was the beginning of autumn, his favorite season – not too hot, not too cold, there was no threat of pollen allergy and there was no stupid ‘love blossoming season’ like spring.  
  
Ohno’s studio wasn’t a typical office room. It was an old-style Japanese house in a quiet area in Hakone surrounded by trees. The studio room was in the middle of the house where they could stare outside to the green trees if they were sick of the computer screen. There was a fish pond in the backyard where Ohno would sit for hours, looking for inspiration. A few Sakura trees were in the front yard, but they looked dead now, waiting in silence for the spring to come.  
  
Nino walked towards the studio and was surprised to find Ohno there. He looked sleepy as always, his right hand supported his chin and he stared at the wall as if it was the most interesting object on earth. Jun looked at Nino, transmitting a code to come closer.  
  
Ohno somehow looked like a figure from ancient Japan; he was short and skinny with a pair of slanted eyes, a nicely shaped nose and pretty lips. His skin was tanned since he loved to sunbathe. The man never wore anything flashy; his clothes were simple and probably a decade old, given that some of them were already falling apart. But they didn’t reduce Ohno’s natural charm; the man possessed something which made him attractive just the way he was.  
  
Nino didn’t greet the  _mangaka_  and to headed his desk, which was located right beside Jun’s.  
  
“He’s waiting for Sakurai san,” Jun whispered as he sat down.  
  
Sakurai was the publisher who came to the studio once a month to bring the printed comics and a box of donuts for the team. Nino would categorize Sakurai as handsome, but the trouble was that he talked too much on esoteric topics that Nino had never heard of. He was surprised that Ohno could befriend that kind of character. Sakurai had an eye on Jun; his eyes always sparkled whenever he saw Jun. However, Jun seemed not to notice and chose to disappear mysteriously every time Sakurai came.  
  
“It’s unusual for him to wait here, Ohno sensei loves his working desk too much,” Nino whispered back. Ohno worked in a different room, and no one except the  _mangaka_  was allowed to enter. Ohno cleaned it himself; Jun jokingly told Nino that Ohno probably kept a sex toy in there and forbade everyone from entering to keep it secret.  
  
“It seems that Sakurai san isn’t in the printing department anymore. Last I heard, he was promoted. Today is his last visit here,” Jun replied.  
  
Nino silently admired Jun for his ability to know every piece of gossip related to Ohno. He wondered whether Jun was telepathic, and the thought made Nino shiver.  
  
“So he’s coming to have some kind of goodbye party with Ohno sensei?” Nino said.  
  
“Maybe.”  
  
Ohno stood up from the sofa and approached Jun’s desk. He lazily took one of the fashion magazines from Jun’s table and looked at his two employees.  
  
“May I?” he asked.  
  
“Sure,” Jun nodded, smiling nervously. Nino wondered if Jun would ever get used to Ohno’s presence, considering he had already worked here for almost a year.  
  
“Sho kun will introduce the new printer’s representative today,” Ohno said, using Sakurai’s given name. He and Ohno usually called each other by their first name, but that wasn’t so strange. Basically, Ohno called everyone by their given name.  
  
“Sho kun still wants to turn our comic into an anime series,” Ohno continued, shaking his head. There was no pride in Ohno’s voice, however. Regardless of the fact that his comic had been a hit, he seemed troubled by all the attention. He even sent Nino or Jun to do interviews for him, and he hated to be featured in magazines or on television programs. It had been a long time since Sakurai first brought up the idea with Ohno, but the mangaka was too stubborn to say yes.  
  
“Don’t you think it would be a good chance, Sensei?” Jun said, looking at Nino for support.  
  
“Jun kun is right,” Nino nodded, but he knew that no matter how they tried, Ohno’s answer would always be the same.  
  
Ohno was about to answer when the doorbell rang; he put down Jun’s magazine and walked towards the door. Sakurai’s voice could be heard greeting the mangaka cheerfully and then, a familiar voice followed – one that Nino was afraid to turn around to confront.  
  
***  
  
_Six years ago…_  
  
“Nino, have you heard the saying ‘you can’t lose what you never had?’”  
  
“Maybe, why?”  
  
Aiba shook his head and gave Nino a wide smile. They pedaled their bicycle away from Nino’s high school. It was the beginning of spring, and the flowers had started to bloom; the air was still cold, but it would turn warmer each day.  
  
“It’s so nice that you came for my graduation,” Nino said, “Aren’t you busy with your assignment in the first year of college?”  
  
“Since when are you worried about me?” Aiba chuckled, pedaling his bicycle faster to match their speeds.  
  
“Since forever! You’re the type of person who makes everyone worry,” Nino answered, slowing down.  
  
“Hey, I can manage myself, don’t you worry, Ninomi.”  
  
“I never thought you would have chosen to study letters,” Nino said.  
  
“It’s the only thing I’m good at,” Aiba answered. “Our options decrease as we graduate high school, and it’s an important step to the future. I have to make sure I made a right choice.”  
  
“Don’t tell me you’ll become a novelist,” Nino said. “I hate novels and their writers, they always write a fake happy ending which would never happen in the real life.”  
  
“What if I become one?” Aiba asked.  
  
“Then I will hate you.”  
  
Aiba laughed loudly. Nino concentrated on the road ahead, but couldn’t help but think that he had never finished reading a single novel in his life. The classes in high school which required him to study novels were his least favorite; Nino usually had his classmates to do the homework for him.  
  
Nino had no intention of entering university. He planned to take a year-long course at  _mangaka_  school and look for a job afterwards. Besides, he couldn’t imagine living in a crowded city like Tokyo; he wasn’t very adaptable and it was too much for his parents to pay for his study.  
  
Aiba, on the other hand, had a dream he wanted to chase in Tokyo. He wasn’t an ambitious person, but if he had a goal, he would try his best to reach it. They were childhood friends and, like all best friends, they could talk about almost everything, even if they had very different personalities. Aiba loved fashion, Nino didn’t. Aiba loved jazz music, Nino would never listen to it. Aiba could befriend everyone, Nino mostly avoided people.  
  
Nino had looked up to Aiba ever since he was a child and the feeling had gotten stronger as they got older. After a while, he started to realize that his feelings for Aiba wasn’t just an extraordinary sense of friendship; it was different, and it scared him.  
  
“Are you sure you don’t want to attend university?” Aiba asked.  
  
“Yes, I think city life doesn’t suit me,” Nino replied, getting down from his bicycle as they reached the slope.  
  
Both of them pushed their bikes towards the hill where they used to visit after school. It was their favorite spot to sit and talk about their days. Nino still visited the hill frequently, even after Aiba moved to Tokyo.  
  
Aiba had turned into a good-looking guy over the years; he was slim and tall. He had a good sense for choosing the right clothes, as well as hairstyles. He dyed his hair with a soft brown color and let it grow long; when the sunlight shone to it, it glowed beautifully. Aiba’s smile was bright, and shined even on cloudy days; Nino could look at it for hours without getting bored.  
  
He walked behind his friend and looked at into Aiba’s handsome figure; he wondered when Aiba transformed into this beautiful man. He could be a model, which made Nino feel like an ugly duckling compared to Aiba.  
  
An uninvited thought sneaked into his head - the scene where he confessed his feelings to Aiba.  
_“Ninomi, are you alright? There’s no way that we can be a couple, let’s just stay friends.”_  
  
Nino could hear Aiba’s words clearly in his head. That was why he wanted to have Aiba in a different way, even just for a couple of hours. He wanted to know how it felt to be in Aiba’s arms. He could live by preserving the memory forever, and it didn’t matter if Aiba never responded to his feelings.  
  
He couldn’t lose what he never had – just like Aiba had said.  
  
Both of them fell into silence, enjoying the scene before their eyes as they reached the top of the hill. The soft wind blew their hair, and Nino stole a glance to Aiba through strands of his hair. Aiba was closing his eyes, and he looked so calm and content. Nino took a deep breath and dared himself to speak.  
  
“I have a favor to ask,” Nino began. He knew the consequences, but there was no way back; it was now or never.  
  
“What is it?” Aiba asked, opening his eyes and brushing his long brown hair with his fingers.  
  
“Have sex with me,” Nino stated without any hint of hesitation. He said the words as if he was asking Aiba to go to the arcade and play pachinko with him.  
  
Aiba widened his eyes, but he seemed to know that Nino wasn’t joking. The expression Aiba gave him was hard to read, but it wasn’t immediate disgust, it was…  
  
“I’d love to,” Aiba answered.  
  
They gazed into each other’s eyes, trying to find the confirmation of what they had just said. Aiba smiled and patted Nino’s shoulder.  
  
“We’ll meet tonight, at the station. I know a perfect place,” he said.  
  
“To-..tonight?” Nino stuttered.  
  
“Before you change your mind,” Aiba smiled gently and averted his gaze to the sky. His brown hair complemented the sun; the scene was so pretty in Nino’s eyes.  
  
Aiba was right; if they delayed, they would probably change their minds.  
  
The two of them went separate ways to their respective houses; it was almost three in the afternoon. Nino didn’t feel like having lunch, so he went straight to his room and slumped back on his bed. What a stupid request he had made, and why on earth had Aiba agreed? A normal friend would have denied it immediately. Nino had known Aiba forever; he never said no to him, and would grant even Nino’s most idiotic wishes.  
  
But having sex was something different; it needed the kind of emotional connection which didn’t usually exist between friends. It was too late to backtrack now. After this, Nino decided he would never bother Aiba anymore, and they would be free to date anyone they liked without each other’s permission.  
  
Nino was often jealous of the attention Aiba got when they were in the high school, and even though he didn’t say it out loud, Aiba knew it. Jealousy wasn’t just for lovers, it applied to friends as well, and Aiba was too kind to Nino to think that Nino’s jealousy signified something else.  
  
Perhaps, by having sex with Aiba once in his lifetime, Nino could let him go. He couldn’t live forever with this feeling, something that he couldn’t confess because he was too afraid to get hurt and was too scared that Aiba would dump him. By having Aiba for one night would be enough and, with that, he encouraged himself not to un-make his decision.  
  
Aiba was waiting for him at the station when Nino got there. The older wore a V-neck T-shirt below a dark blue cardigan which revealed a bit of his skin. His brown hair glowed under the light and he smile happily when he saw Nino approached.  
  
“Ninomi,” Aiba said, placing his hand on Nino’s shoulder and pulling him towards the platform to wait for the train. “Are you okay?”  
  
Nino nodded, not knowing what to say. He wished he could say that he had only been joking, that he wasn’t seriously inviting Aiba to bed, but it was too late now. He would regret it for as long as he lived if he ran away now.  
  
Aiba guided him to a hotel which Nino recognized wasn’t a love hotel, just a normal one. The building was new, the room was quite large with a king sized bed, a nice abstract painting decorating the wall, and a wide mirror hanging on the ceiling.  
  
“I got a voucher from my friend to spend a night in this hotel and its chain. Isn’t it perfect?” Aiba said, grinning from ear to ear. He looked like he was enjoying this, unlike Nino who felt like he would throw up from nervousness anytime soon.  
  
“Can we drink something first?” Nino said with a trembling voice.  
  
“Sure, let’s order some wine, or we can have an early dinner,” Aiba suggested.  
  
Nino shook his head to the latter suggestion.. He would throw up for real if he ate something.  
  
Both of them had a glass of white wine while watching television Nino wasn’t great at handling alcohol; a glass of wine had already made him light-headed and he started to relax. They watched the music channel, which now broadcasted Bruno Mars’ song, which sent a pleasant vibe throughout the room and, without thinking about it, Nino leaned over and kissed Aiba.  
  
Nino would never forget that particular night where he felt that Aiba was completely his. Aiba’s perfect body, his warm breaths, his soft kisses - everything was his.  
  
That was the very last time Nino saw Aiba. The man barely returned to Nagoya as his college became busier. He told Nino that he had to work part time during his holidays, and Nino had no willingness to go to Tokyo to visit Aiba. Before he knew it, he had drawn himself further from his friend for good. He changed his phone number and stopped using his old email address. Aiba had sent letters to his parents’ house, but Nino had moved out to live on his own and the letters remained unread.  
  
_‘I can’t lose what I never had’_  
  
Nino repeated the words to himself for six years.  
  
***  
  
“My name is Aiba Masaki. It’s an honor to work with you, Ohno Sensei.”  
  
Nino couldn’t move when he saw Aiba right in front of him. It felt like a dream. He thought that he would never see this guy again – certainly not in this studio, where there was no place to run or hide. His heart wasn’t ready for this sudden meeting and he regretted not putting together a better outfit in the morning.  
  
Jun touched his arm lightly and whispered, “That guy looks exactly the same with the sketches you have been drawing.”  
  
Nino silenced him with a finger, as Aiba cast his eyes around the room.  
  
“These are my assistants, Jun and Kazunari,” Ohno introduced them.  
  
“Ninomi?!” Aiba looked surprised as he recognized Nino, but his lips curved into a wide smile, “What a coincidence.”  
  
“Oh, you know each other?” Ohno looked back and forth between Nino and Aiba.  
  
“Yes, we’ve known each other since forever,” Aiba answered happily, “But we haven’t seen each other in ages,” he continued, looking at Nino with a an unexpected longing.  
  
“It’s nice that you can meet again,” Ohno said without any judgement, but there was a sympathy in his voice. “Why don’t we sit down and have some coffee?”  
  
Ohno, Sho and Aiba moved towards the armchairs and sat down. Nino followed Jun towards the pantry to help him make five cups of coffee - something that he rarely did. Jun raised his eyebrow, but said nothing as Nino followed behind.  
  
It wasn’t the perfect way to see Aiba again; if he could have chosen, he would have wanted to bump into the man in a crowded train station, or maybe in an airport somewhere overseas.  
  
He inhaled deeply before stepping towards the studio from the pantry with the tray in his hands, trying not to tremble as he put the cup in front of Aiba.  
  
“I have been a fan of Sensei’s work,” Aiba said. “It would be great if you agree to make it into an anime series, everybody is waiting for it.”  
  
Ohno glanced at Nino, who took a seat behind his working desk instead of joining them on the sofa. Nino felt that his chest would explode if he sat beside Aiba. The memory from that night six years ago was still fresh in the back of his mind. He even spent his free time sketching Aiba; not intentionally, but his hand moved freely and before he knew it, he had drawn Aiba’s face. Jun always asked who the man was, but Nino lied and said that the man was just his imagination.  
  
“I’ve told him a thousand times already,” Sakurai chimed in, drinking his coffee carefully. “Ohno Sensei still needs time to decide.”  
  
Aiba nodded understandingly. The conversation continued but Nino deliberately didn’t pay attention. He busied himself sketching out the place where Ohno wanted as the background scene for the comic next edition.  
  
Nino tuned back in when the conversation was winding down. “Thank you for the coffee, please take care of Aiba kun from now on,” Sakurai said, bowing at Ohno.  
  
“Please bear with us, Masaki,” Ohno said, calling him by his first name  
  
“It’s my pleasure to work with you,” Aiba bowed.  
  
They shook hands and ended their introduction meeting.  
  
“There’s a lot I’d like to talk to you about,” Aiba said, smiling at him.  
  
Nino couldn’t find the right words to reply, so he simply nodded and averted his gaze. Jun walked Sakurai and Aiba towards the exit and came back with a satisfied face.  
  
“An old friend, huh,” he said as he took a seat beside Nino’s desk. “You should have told me your old friend is such a hottie.”  
  
“Shut up, Jun,” Nino said.  
  
“You’re blushing,” Jun smirked.  
  
Aiba was still mesmerizing, just as Jun said. He wore a suit, but he still managed to look cool. He didn’t have his brown hair anymore; he had dyed it black and cut it short, making him look more mature and more handsome.  
  
“But you look amazingly nervous to meet an old friend, isn’t that weird?”  
  
“I just didn’t want to interrupt the serious discussion between Ohno Sensei and the printing company,” Nino answered.  
  
“Mmm…,” Jun gave him an annoying smirk and didn’t say anything else.  
  
Nino couldn’t focus on his work for the rest of the day. Aiba hadn’t seemed as surprised to meet him as Nino, he was relaxed and still able to speak. Maybe he had forgotten that night, or never took it seriously; after all, Nino was the one who had confessed to his friend and not the other way around.  
  
He should have talked more to Aiba or perhaps apologized for disappearing without a word, but nothing formed in his brain. He didn’t know what to say to Aiba; besides, Ohno and Jun would only make fun of him if he told them anything, particularly Jun who liked to brag the other people’s love story.  
  
“I need to go home early,” Nino said, rising from his seat and shouldering his bag.  
  
“Wait, Ohno Sensei said we have to finish ten pages today and you haven’t started anything yet.”  
  
“I’ll finish it tomorrow,” Nino ignored Jun and walked towards the door. He couldn’t work in this chaotic mood; all he could think of was Aiba’s face. He had no place to run now; he couldn’t just quit his job and avoid Aiba all over again. He had to face whatever would come. For all he knew, Aiba had probably married and had kids. Maybe that was why the sudden meeting with Nino didn’t bother him that much.  
  
His feet brought him to a coffee shop near the bus stop. He imagined what kind of life Aiba had been leading up until now: where he had been, who he had dated.  
  
Nino knew that Sakurai was living in Tokyo and came to Ohno’s studio in Hakone once a month to discuss work. Was Aiba living in Tokyo all this time? Of course, Nino thought, Aiba had always loved city life.  
  
He sipped the black coffee in his hand and tried to push Aiba out of his head; but there was nothing he could do to block the thoughts about his old friend.  
  
***  
  
“Sensei, why Nino? He always declines to travel for work and I can’t find the reason that he would accept this time.”  
  
Nino heard Jun say this as he entered the studio; he closed the door firmly behind him to announce his presence. Jun turned around and looked at him, annoyed, while Ohno motioned for him to come closer.  
  
“What travel?” Nino asked.  
  
“A work trip,” Ohno answered.  
  
Nino glanced at Jun, who pouted and sat down behind his desk angrily.  
  
“You’ll be travelling to Hokkaido. I know that you can’t draw the background properly without seeing the real place. You won’t be alone, Masaki kun will go with you.”  
  
“What?!” Both he and Jun replied.  
  
“Aiba? Why?” Nino asked.  
  
“He’s going to meet my old friend, Sakamoto Sensei,” Ohno answered. “You’ll be going in two days. Everything has been taken care of; here’s your ticket, and you can take day off tomorrow if you need some time to prepare.”  
  
Nino had no time to protest as Ohno pushed the envelope into his hand, and he sat down behind his desk. Ohno disappeared into his room again and likely would not emerge until his work was done - probably around midnight.  
  
“Sorry, Jun,” Nino mumbled. “I’ve always hated planes.”  
  
“I know,” Jun mumbled. “But Sensei wants you to go, so you have to go.”  
  
“No hard feelings,” Nino chuckled, knowing that Jun’s mood had picked up. Jun was a simple man, like a young kid, but sometimes he could act like a big brother to Nino.  
  
“It means you can spend some time with your old friend,” Jun said.  
  
“I guess so,” Nino looked at the envelope in his left hand. Spending time with an old friend seemed like not a bad idea.  
  
All he needed to do was get rid of was his never-ending nervousness at the idea of going with Aiba. They had gone camping together a long time ago, but there were ten other people in their group; now Nino had to spend time just with Aiba – for the first time since that night.  
  
****  
  
Two days later, Nino took a cab to the airport early. He didn’t want to be rushed, and it was better to wait at the departure lounge enjoying a cup of coffee than panicking if he was stuck in a traffic jam. He had never been to Hokkaido before, and he didn’t particularly want to go there. The place must be very cold now compared to everywhere else in Japan.  
  
He headed to the coffee shop when he arrived at the airport and ordered a cappuccino and a piece of cheesecake and chose to sit in the far corner. Ohno had given him Aiba’s number, but he hadn’t contacted the man. He didn’t know what to say; besides, it wasn’t really necessary for them to go together to Hokkaido. Both of them went there for different reasons, after all.  
  
_‘Ninomi, where are you? I’ve just arrived at the airport.’_  Aiba’s message came.  
  
Nino looked at his phone, feeling overwhelmed. It was strange to find Aiba’s name on his phone. The message was all in  _katakana*_ , an old habit that Aiba obviously couldn’t change. Nino wondered if this was how he contacted his clients; it wasn’t very professional.  
  
Nino replied shortly that he was enjoying a cup of coffee and would check-in soon. He didn’t want to see him yet. Aiba replied with a emoji that said that he got it.  
  
Nino sipped his cappuccino while reading some news on his phone, but no matter how he tried to concentrate, he couldn’t absorb the information in the articles. He slid out a small sketch book from his rucksack and started drawing. Before he realized it, he had finished yet another sketch of Aiba’s face. A smile crept onto his face as he put the sketch book back to his bag. He took his suitcase and dragged it towards the check-in counter.  
  
“Ninomi!”  
  
Aiba approached him with a broad smile, a suitcase in his right hand and his left waving at Nino.  
  
“Aiba,” Nino murmured to himself.  
  
“Let’s go,” he led the way towards the check-in counter. “We’ll be sitting together, right?”  
  
“I guess so,” Nino shrugged.  
  
“Of course we will,” Aiba winked and gave him another wide smile. He looked like a machine with a full battery – in a good way.  
  
On the plane, they did sit in the same row on the aisle, because Nino couldn’t handle sitting in the window seat. Aiba helped him store his rucksack in the overhead compartment and then sat beside him.  
  
“It’s just a short flight, there’s nothing to worry about,” he said gently as he saw Nino squeeze his own hands nervously.  
  
“Yeah, you’re right,” Nino answered. He really wanted to tell Aiba that there was no correlation between short or long flights if you were afraid of flying. He ended up holding Aiba’s hand tightly when the plane took off from the ground, out of pure reflex. Aiba laughed but he didn’t let go of Nino’s hand until the stewardess came to serve them with lunch.  
  
They talked about Ohno’s comics, and it felt just like the old days. Neither of them seemed to want to talk about the fact that they disappeared from each other’s life as if it was normal, and it almost felt as if Nino had never been out of Aiba’s reach.  
  
“He wants me to capture the background scene perfectly,” Nino said to Aiba. “It’s my first time going this far north.”  
  
“Maybe Ohno Sensei will write a completely new volume set in Hokkaido,” Aiba said. Nino nodded in agreement. “I never would have guessed that you would be working for  _the_  Ohno Sensei,” Aiba continued. “I’ve read his comics ever since he debuted.”  
  
“I never would have guessed it either,” Nino replied, imagining Aiba read the comics and looking forward for the next edition. The scene somehow made his chest tighten.  
  
The plane landed safely in Sapporo, and they headed towards the exit after getting their luggage. A middle-aged man greeted them as they came out, he introduced himself as Sakamoto’s employee and was assigned to take them to the hotel and arrange their trip for the next day. As expected from Ohno Sensei, everything had been organized.  
  
“Are you cold?” Aiba asked.  
  
“I’m fine,” Nino replied, even as he shivered.  
  
To the outside world, they looked like a couple travelling together. The thought made Nino happy, even though he hadn’t talked with Aiba about where he was and what was he doing during the last six years.  
  
The middle-aged man took them to a hotel and helped them with their luggage, and said that he would be at the lobby at 8 the next morning. Nino and Aiba thanked him and proceeded to the reception desk to check-in. He was glad that he and Aiba weren’t in the same room; he didn’t dare imagine himself sharing a room with this man.  
  
“We still have plenty of time, let’s go somewhere,” Aiba said, glancing at his watch. “Find some food, maybe?”  
  
“Sounds nice,” Nino said, smiling.  
  
Aiba glanced at Nino’s room number on the key he had in his hand. “Good, we’re on the same floor,” he said. Nino latter didn’t reply, just grinned instead.  
  
They arranged to meet at 5, so they had enough time to unpack and rest. Once inside the spacious room, Nino put his rucksack on the closet and flopped back on the bed, thinking about this unplanned trip. Maybe Ohno had planned it without his knowledge, but why did he arrange the trip with Aiba on purpose? He knew nothing about Nino’s past, after all. Nino gave up on that train of thought. The answer wouldn’t come to him anyway.  _Let it be,_  he thought.  
  
Aiba knocked on his door at five, wearing a nice dark red scarf around his neck and a white cardigan.  
  
“Where are we going?” Nino asked.  
  
“We are going to find some delicious sushi. here are many restaurants along this street, so we can decide as we walk,” Aiba answered.  
  
They walked side by side, enjoying the cold evening air of Sapporo. The sky had turned dark, but the last sunlight remained in the west. It was such a beautiful evening, but Nino had to admit that it became more perfect with Aiba beside him. He imagined that they were a real couple, holding hands as they walked out on a date.  
  
“Nino, I’m so glad that we met again,” Aiba opened the conversation. “It feels like unreal to me. I thought we would never cross paths again.”  
  
Nino had a feeling that Aiba had prepared himself to say those words, and he had been waiting for just the right time.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Nino replied.  
  
“You don’t need to be sorry.”  
  
“I’m such a moron, just disappearing like that. I should have said something.”  
  
Aiba shook his head. “Maybe something came up that you couldn’t tell me.”  
  
“Maybe,” Nino said.  
  
“Hey, we’re still friends. You don’t need to blame yourself. The most important thing is we’ve met up again. And now here we are, together in Sapporo; isn’t that great?”  
  
Aiba always looked at the positive side of things. Maybe that was why Aiba didn’t show any anger for what happened in the past between them.  
  
That night, they ate sushi, drank beer and talked about the recent edition of Ohno’s comics and the latest movies, and after dinner, they went to a bar nearby the sushi restaurant and drank some wine.  
  
The atmosphere was pleasant with the dim lighting and soft music in the background. It had been a while since Nino had had anything to drink, and he thought that he had overcome his issue with alcohol, but he was wrong. He felt content and comfortable as the alcohol took effect. He felt relaxed for the first time that day, and he felt like he could say anything to the man sitting across from him.  
  
“Aiba, do you like me?” he asked.  
  
Aiba looked at him with a wide smile on his lips and nodded slightly. “I’ve always liked you.”  
  
“Then have sex with me,” Nino said without thinking. His braincells had given him the order to say the words out loud, rather than just thinking them.  
  
“Nino, you’re drunk,” Aiba said, and took the glass from his hand. “Let’s stop drinking and go back to the hotel, okay?”  
  
“Are you going to fuck me when we’re at the hotel?” Nino asked.  
  
“We’ll see,” Aiba replied, helping him rise from his seat and supporting him as he walked towards the exit.  
  
He didn’t really remember how Aiba helped him up to his room and into his bed. He said many things that he couldn’t quite remember, and didn’t make any sense, but he saw Aiba chuckle as he heard them.  
  
“Am I funny?”  
  
“Yes, you are so funny,” Aiba said, covering him with a blanket.  
  
“Why are you covering me? I want to have sex,” Nino whined, but his eyelids felt as heavy as lead. He was sound asleep in no time.  
  
***  
  
“Good morning,” Aiba greeted him as he opened his eyes.  
  
Nino looked at his surroundings; he was sleeping on the edge of the bed, his neck bent in a weird position, which made it hurt and stiff.  
  
“Aiba, what are you doing in my room?” Nino mumbled as he saw his friend sit down on the sofa beside the bed.  
  
“This is my room, actually,” Aiba answered.  
  
“Pardon me?” Nino lifted his head from the bed and slowly sat up. “Why am I here?”  
  
“You were really drunk,” Aiba answered calmly. “I was worried that you might have jumped from your window in your stupor, so I brought you here.”  
  
“Oh no,” Nino messaged his temples, cursing his stupidity. “What time is it? Are we late?”  
  
Aiba glanced at his watch, “We still have 45 minutes. I brought you breakfast and made a cup of coffee so you don’t need to go the restaurant.”  
  
“Thanks,” Nino rose from the bed and sat down on another sofa across from Aiba. He had no time to feel embarrassed. He had screwed up, but it seemed that Aiba didn’t mind at all.  
  
“I will visit Sakamoto san while you go around, we can have lunch together in the afternoon if it’s okay with you,” Aiba said.  
  
Nino shook his head, “It will be a burden for you; let’s meet up at dinner.”  
  
“Alright,” Aiba accepted, sipping the coffee and waiting for Nino to finish his breakfast.  
  
“Aiba,” Nino said as he gulped down the last piece of bread, “Whatever I said to you when I was drunk… just forget it okay, I don’t remember any of it , but I’m sure I must have said must be something illogical and embarrassing.”  
  
“You are cute when you’re drunk,” Aiba chuckled.  
  
“Did I say something horrible?”  
  
“No,” Aiba answered, smiling at Nino. “Now let’s hurry, the driver will be here any minute.”  
  
Their plan for the day went smoothly. Nino went to places where the scenes of Ohno’s comic would be set, and took many pictures and sent them to Jun. He wondered how Jun was doing in his absence. Maybe he had sneaked into Ohno’s room and looked at the porn comics Ohno had written.  
  
Nino was looking for hillside scenery, and he had gone to two vantage points to take photos. It was unfortunate that the maple trees hadn’t turned red yet, even though the air was already too cold for the beginning of autumn. Nino liked it this way. The third hillside he visited was even more beautiful than the last two. He could see all the way to the town down an alley, and it brought back memories he had shared with Aiba; it felt like a scene from a long time ago in a faraway place. They often spent hours staring at the scenery from the hillside in their hometown.

 

Nino closed his eyes while inhaling the cold air; this place really calmed his nerves. He stayed like that for a few minutes before leaving the place for a quick lunch. Aiba sent him a message, asking if everything was alright. Nino replied with a short sentence, as he still felt uneasy for his accidental drunken escapades the night before. He couldn’t imagine what Jun would say if he found out about it.   
  
He and Aiba met up for dinner, but they decided not to drink that night. They went back to the hotel side by side, walking in silence, drowning in their own thoughts. Suddenly, Aiba took Nino’s hand; the latter was surprised by the unexpected action but he didn’t pull away. Aiba’s fingers were strong and soft at the same time; they were comforting and warming him.   
  
“We can watch movies tonight,” Aiba suggested.   
  
“I don’t want to go to the cinema,” Nino mumbled an answer.   
  
“I mean we can rent something and watch it together.”   
  
“Alright,” Nino agreed.   
  
They found an old DVD rental nearby the hotel; Aiba was the one who chose the movie since Nino didn’t really watch them. Aiba’s choice was ‘Lala Land’ and the animation ‘Kimi no na wa’. Back at the hotel, Aiba opened the door and gestured to Nino to get in.Somehow, it reminded him of the night they had sex in a hotel in Nagoya.   
  
“Do you want some coffee or tea?” Aiba asked.  
  
“Coffee, please,” Nino said as he took care of the DVD. “Which one do you want to watch first?”   
  
“‘Kimi no na wa’,” Aiba answered. He boiled the water, tore apart the instant coffee sachet and poured them into the cups. “I’ve watched it once already and really want to watch it again.”   
  
“Is it that good?” Nino asked.  
  
“Yes, you’ll say the same thing.”   
  
Aiba finished making the coffee and put the cups on the table, taking a seat right beside Nino, so close that their elbows almost touched. Nino tried to ignore their closeness and paid attention to the movie instead, but he couldn’t prevent his heart from pounding hard in his chest. Aiba’s soft scent reached his nose, so pleasant that Nino wanted to bury his face into Aiba’s neck.   
  
By the time Taki drank the  _kuchikamizake_  from the bottle which Mitsuha had hidden inside the cave, they were kissing. Nino didn’t know who started it but their lips met, Aiba’s breath tasting of coffee as he kissed Nino gently. Nino tried to keep himself from passing out as Aiba’s kiss stopped him from breathing properly, but he didn’t want to end it. He put both of his hands at the back of Aiba’s neck and encouraged the other man to kiss him more.   
  
They did end up on bed that night, with no words needed – just like six years ago.   
  
“Tell me, are you doing this as a friend or…?” Nino whispered when they were finished.   
  
“Do you still see me as only a friend?”   
  
“You could have a girlfriend or a wife at home,” Nino said, averting his gaze.   
  
“Same thing applies to you,” Aiba replied.   
  
“I…nobody wants to date someone like me.”   
  
“Well, I want to, so badly that I can’t focus on relationships with other men.”   
  
“You must have dated lots of people, Aiba,” Nino rolled over and pulled the blanket to cover his naked ass.   
  
“Yes, I did. But they all ended before they even started, because I was always thinking of you,” Aiba pulled him into his embrace again and kissed his forehead. “I’ve been looking for you my whole my life. If you hadn’t left that time, maybe we could have started earlier.”   
  
Nino shook his head, “You scare me. You’re the last person on earth I imagined could talk about romance.”   
  
“You’ve got it wrong,” Aiba smiled. “Never leave me again, would you?”   
  
Nino chuckled and kissed Aiba’s cheek. “We’ll see,” he said.   
  
****  
  
The rest of the trip turned out like a romantic getaway for them. They went to hot springs together, visited Hakodate, spent the night in Aiba’s room and made love. It was too good to be true, as if someone had arranged it so they could have such a happy time. Nino couldn’t imagine what kind of reaction Jun would have if he told him about the honeymoon-like trip with Aiba.   
  
“Aiba, do you still live in Tokyo?” Nino asked when they were in the bath together. The bathtub wasn’t that large, but Aiba insisted he enter, and they ended up curled up awkwardly in the small space.   
  
“Yes, why?”   
  
“Nothing,” Nino shook his head. “You’ve always liked the city life, haven’t you?”  
  
“I can visit you to Hakone as often as you want if the distance concerns you,” Aiba teased him.   
  
“That’s not what I mean,” Nino could feel his cheeks burned.   
  
“I can  _stay_  at Hakone, if you want.”   
  
“No,” Nino shook his head. “You love the city, I don’t want to burden you.”   
  
“You’re really cute when you started worrying about me,” Aiba chuckled, placing his hand on Nino’s cheek and pinching it softly. “You’re always my Ninomi.”   
  
“That name is stupid,” Nino mumbled.   
  
“But you like it,” Aiba whispered.   
  
They finished their bath and shifted into the room with only towels around their waists. Nino switched on the TV and flipped through the channels without paying any particular attention. He waited for Aiba on the bed, but before the man could join him, the phone rang from somewhere in the room. Aiba searched for it for a moment and excused himself to the balcony after putting on a bathrobe.   
  
Nino couldn’t hear the conversation, but from Aiba’s expression, he could tell that Aiba was talking about something serious. He checked his phone and realized that he hadn’t made a call to Jun or Ohno, although maybe it wasn’t the right time; he probably would only brag about Aiba.   
  
Aiba returned and gave Nino a broad smile as he sat down beside him.   
  
“I don’t want to return to Tokyo,” Aiba said, lying down on the bed and playing with Nino’s fingers. “I just want to stay in this bed with you.”   
  
“Let’s not go back then,” Nino replied, joining him to lay on the bed.   
  
“I’ll consider it.”   
  
****  
  
The next day would be their final day in Hokkaido;, so Nino lazily packed his stuff into the suitcase later that day. He wondered why it seemed not big enough to load all of his belongings, but then he saw the five boxes of souvenirs he had bought for Jun and Ohno. He repacked his bag,, this time putting the boxes in the bottom of the suitcase.   
  
He honestly didn’t want to go home.He wasn’t ready to share his relationship with the people he knew, especially Jun. He couldn’t call what he had with Aiba for these past three days an official relationship; they kissed, shared the bathtub and even shared the bed, but some people didn’t need a label to do all of those things. Besides, they hadn’t even confessed properly.   
  
Nino had given up when someone knocked at his door. He walked towards the door and opened it; Aiba was standing there with two cups of Starbucks coffee.   
  
“Do you need some help with your packing?” he asked, entering the room and putting one of the cups on the side table. Aiba’s eyes went to Nino’s suitcase and he giggled. “You’re so horrible at packing things.”   
  
“Thanks,” Nino said sarcastically, taking the coffee cup from the side table and sipping it.   
  
“You can put some stuff in my luggage, I still have enough space,” Aiba said.   
  
“That will be great. I bought too many souvenirs,” Nino said, eyeing the boxes which refused to fit his suitcase.   
  
“You and Matsumoto san get along very well, huh?” Aiba said as they sipped their coffee.  
  
“Not really. He never sees me as his senior,” Nino shook his head.  
  
“That’s because you are too cute to be a senior,” Aiba replied.   
  
Nino chuckled; he couldn’t help blushing every time Aiba complimented him.   
  
“Let’s go for drink tonight,” Aiba said after a few minutes of silence. He picked up the souvenir boxes. “I’ll pack these for you.”   
  
“Thanks,” Nino said.  
  
“At seven tonight,” Aiba said before leaving Nino’s room.   
  
***   
  
That night felt unbelievably perfect for Nino. He didn’t drink too much, because he didn’t want to get drunk, just in case they were going to have sex. But, as expected that everything didn’t turn as he wished.When Aiba went to the bathroom later that evening, Nino accidentally saw his phone lying next to his elbow. Aiba had forgotten to lock it, so the message appeared clearly on its screen. The sender was none other than Sakurai Sho.   
  
_‘I bet your writing has progressed rapidly as he is by your side all the time, I can’t wait for the completed story. Our editor is looking forward to your newest novel’_  
  
Nino read the message quickly so he didn’t miss a single word, catching it before the screen went dark. He noticed that he was gripping the glass in his hand very strongly as he absorbed the information. Aiba wasn’t from the publisher; he was a writer instead. Did Ohno know about it? Did he do it on purpose? Did he send Nino far away with this guy who happened to be Nino’s old friend, expecting that they could become close again?   
  
Aiba came back from the restroom with a smile on his lips but Nino couldn’t bring himself to respond in kind. He averted his gaze, knowing that he needed to get out of here.He couldn’t stand being by Aiba’s side now. He mumbled that he needed some fresh air as he rose from his seat.   
  
“You haven’t drunk your beer,” Aiba said, glancing at Nino’s full glass.   
  
“I don’t want to drink anymore. I want to go back to the hotel.”   
  
“Are you sick?” Aiba asked. “You look pale.”  
  
“I’m fine,” Nino’s voice was higher than he meant it to be.  
  
“I’ll go with you; it’s raining outside,” Aiba rose from his seat and approached him.   
  
Nino imagined how Aiba would describe this scene in his ongoing novel, and the thought made him angry. He wasn’t here to be a muse for Aiba’s story. He waited until both of them were outside the bar, on the empty sidewalk before saying what was on his mind.   
  
“You lied to me, Aiba.”  
  
Aiba stopped his steps and looked at him with a shocked expression. The rain fell between them, the night cold and quiet, and Nino’s voice seemed to be the only audible thing. It felt like hours as both of them looked at each other with the curtain of rain blocking their sight.   
  
“You’re not from the printing department, you made up all of this; you pretended to find me by coincidence,” Nino’s voice was trembling from anger and cold, but whichever it was, he didn’t really care. “It’s an awful thing to do to your friend, I thought that I knew you,” he continued with a whisper.   
  
Aiba’s face hardened, and he didn’t reply to Nino immediately, his eyes focused on the falling rain which had completely saturated their hair.   
  
“It’s the only way to get close to you,” Aiba answered with a guilty tone in his voice. “If I told you the truth, you would have left again.”  
  
Nino shook his head. This was going nowhere, he didn’t want to hear more excuses from Aiba. He turned around, leaving Aiba wordlessly He wanted to be alone, he didn’t want to see Aiba’s faceAiba grabbed his elbow, preventing him from going any further.   
  
“I’m sorry, Nino. I didn’t mean to hurt you or take advantage of you, I just wanted us to reunite, that’s all.”   
  
“You could have told me the truth, instead of lying to me,” Nino said, freeing his elbow from Aiba’s grip.   
  
“You hate novelists, but I ended up becoming one. I didn’t know whether you would want to meet me again if I said I was a novelist.”   
  
It was the conversation years ago when they were still teenagers; Nino never would have guessed that Aiba would have chosen to be a novelist out of all the other professions. The reason Nino hated novelists was because they seemed so naïve, the way everything had a happy ending always made him sick to his stomach. Aiba knew it - all Nino read were comics or magazines or newspapers. He avoided every form of novel, and now Aiba was standing before him proclaiming he was one of the novelists who presented naïve stories to the world.   
  
“I’ve been missing you since that day,” Aiba said, placing both hands on Nino’s shoulders. “You left me without a word as if I was a jerk who wasn’t worth your attention.”   
  
Nino gulped; he was the one who supposed to be angry because Aiba had lied to him and become a damned novelist. He had to admit that he had been missing Aiba too, every single day.   
  
“It’s for your own good.” Nino answered.   
  
“Bullshit,” Aiba replied. “I don’t know why you did it to me; you don’t know how hard it was, you’re just….”  
  
“I know, because it was hard for me too.”  
  
“Then why did you do it?”  
  
“Because I didn’t want to lose you,” Nino said, and it felt like the last sentence in the movie before the main characters finally forgave each other and lived happily ever after. “I’ve always liked you, but I was too scared to say it. I was scared that you would dump me and end our friendship. I was scared that you would choose someone else instead of me and I couldn’t imagine seeing you with them…”   
  
“Nino…” Aiba stepped closer and touched Nino’s arm softly but Nino drewaway.   
  
“Leave me alone, Aiba. We shouldn’t have met again. I was wrong about you,” Nino said, turning around and walking through the hard rain.   
  
“Nino, wait! I love you! I’ve always loved you, please don’t leave me alone again,” Aiba’s voice competed with the hammering of the rain, but Nino was too angry to respond. He kept on walking, not caring that the rain had drenched his clothes.   
  
Nino reached the hotel and headed towards his room as fast as he could. He would go back to Hakone that night, he couldn’t stand seeing Aiba again; he would return by bullet train instead of plane.This was probably the most stupid thing he had ever faced in his entire life. He felt as if somebody had thrown him into a packed arena, naked, and the whole crowd had laughed.   
  
_Look at how naïve were you_  
  
The thought of Aiba made him sick. Perhaps he did it on purpose, for additional scenes in his novel. Why didn’t he realize it earlier? Why did he let himself fall for him that easily?   
  
Aiba called him, but Nino ignored it and switched his phone off right away. He dragged his luggage to the lobby and requested a taxi to the station. Aiba seemed not to be at the hotel yet but Nino didn’t care; he would leave as soon as he could without giving a damn about Aiba.   
  
“Excuse me, Sir, your taxi has arrived,” the receptionist told Nino. He didn’t waste much time; he stepped towards the lobby and got into the taxi. He saw Aiba coming towards the hotel and ran towards the taxi when he realized that Nino was inside, but Nino told the driver to keep going. He had enough of this stupid encounter.   
  
Nino tried to push Aiba away from his thoughts on his trip back to Hakone, but his brain betrayed him. He imagined what kind of romantic novel Aiba was writing; he wondered how many people Aiba had dated and slept with in order to write the scenes in his story. What Aiba said to him sounded like cheap lies – it was something Aiba had said to everyone before Nino, too.   
  
“It’s better if we never meet ever again,” Nino whispered to himself.   
  
***   
  
“How was the trip? Did you enjoy it?” Jun asked when Nino was back at the studio.   
  
“It was okay,” Nino answered shortly. He didn’t mention that the souvenirs he bought for Jun and Ohno were still with Aiba and he had no intention of getting them back.  
  
He had confronted Ohno this morning, asking him to tell the truth about Aiba. The  _mangaka_  told him to find out by himself, not caring that Nino was really upset by Ohno’s arrangements.   
  
“It’s up to you, Kazunari. Masaki doesn’t have bad intentions,” Ohno told him with a tone that indicated that he didn’t want to continue the conversation.   
  
“Where’s my souvenir?” Jun asked playfully.   
  
“Sorry, Jun. I forgot to buy them,” Nino murmured without looking at Jun’s face.   
  
He continued working on the scene, ignoring Jun’s whining that he really wanted to eat some of Hokkaido’s traditional cakes. If what Ohno said was true, maybe what he did to Aiba was too far, but Nino was too angry to accept Aiba’s innocence right now. He still considered himself a victim of Aiba’s novel research .   
  
***  
  
It had been a month since he came back from Hokkaido. Aiba hadn’t called him, which helped Nino to forget what they had shared. Nino finished his work early each day and went home straight away. He was still angry at Ohno for letting it happen, for helping Aiba and for ignoring Nino’s feelings.   
  
He checked his post box and found a package, wrapped neatly with a dark yellow ribbon. The sender’s name was not written on the mysterious package. Nino unwrapped it and found a bundle of papers - a novel manuscript, with a short note on top of it.   
  
_Dear Nino,  
  
This is my novel manuscript. Before I send to the publisher I want you to read it. If you find it meaningless and awful, you can burn it along with the flash drive I sent you. We can pretend that I never wrote it.   
  
You’re the dearest person to me, and I never want to hurt you, not in the slightest. I hope you can forgive my stupidity.   
  
Love,  
  
Aiba Masaki _  
  
Nino gulped hard. He looked at the thick script in his hands. He could burn it and pretend that he had read it, but instead he brought the script inside and put it on his table. He didn’t dare open the first page, as if it could blind him.   
  
The thick script lay innocently on Nino’s table for the next three days without being touched. Nino didn’t know what Aiba wanted by asking him to read the novel, and he was afraid to find a scene similar to what they had in Hokkaido.   
  
However, after a week, he changed his mind and decided to read it. He couldn’t let it lay there forever untouched. His anger had subsided and he began to feel guilty for what he had done, he shouldn’t treat a friend the way he had treated Aiba. Besides, Aiba was perhaps the only friend Nino would ever have. He took a deep breath and started reading. He had never read a novel so seriously before, but he knew he needed to concentrate fully on Aiba’s story.   
  
He took two weeks to finish it, and when he reached the last page, his guilty feelings had grown. The novel wasn’t a romantic story, it was a story about a boy who struggled to become a magician; more like a fantasy novel with a hint of surrealism. Nino couldn’t recognize anything from Aiba’s real life in any of the scenes.   
  
When he was done, Nino put the script carefully into an envelope and tied the same dark yellow ribbon neatly around it. He needed to find Aiba now, to talk properly with him, to apologize.   
  
He called Sakurai and asked for Aiba’s address.   
  
“He lives near Sumiyoshi station. I’ve never been there before, but I guess you can use Google Maps. It would be simpler to just ask Aiba to pick you up at the station.”  
  
“Thanks, Sakurai san, but I want to surprise him. Please don’t tell him that I’ve called you.”   
  
“Okay,” Sakurai answered. “Good luck, Ninomiya kun.”   
  
Nino ended the call and looked up the address on Google Maps. He had never been to Tokyo by himself; Jun had dragged him there for shopping once, but that was around six months ago and wasn’t nearby Aiba’s address. His navigation skills were poor, but he had to challenge himself. He must find Aiba and talk to him.   
  
What should he say to Aiba when they met? Their relationship seemed full of misunderstandings. Nino couldn’t blame Aiba for becoming a novelist; perhaps it was Aiba’s passion and something he really wanted to do in life. Nino had no right to hate him for pursuing his dreams; he wasn’t a naïve high school student anymore. Deep down inside, he knew that he didn’t want to lose Aiba for good.   
  
***  
  
On his day off, Nino shouldered his rucksack and departed for Tokyo. Aiba’s script was tucked safely inside his bag along with a letter he had written for the other man. It wasn’t easy to find Aiba’s house; Nino went the wrong way three times before he found the right block. When he reached the apartment building, he realized he didn’t know Aiba’s apartment number, and he couldn’t just check the door names one by one or people would find him a bit suspicious. He had no choice but to wait for the landlord or neighbors. The air was cold and windy, and his jacket wasn’t enough to warm him as he waited near the gate. Soon, he was able to try his luck by asking a man who passed by.   
  
“Excuse me, Sir. Do you know Aiba Masaki’s apartment? I’m his friend from out of town, I’m here to visit,” Nino asked , trying to get this man’s help.   
  
“Oh, Masaki kun. He’s on the third floor, you can search for his name there, but I think he isn’t home at the moment.”   
  
“Do you know when he’ll be back?” Nino asked again.   
  
“I have no idea,” the man shrugged.   
  
“Thank you,” Nino said, bowing slightly.   
  
He entered the apartment gate and climbed the stairs, thinking of Aiba. He thought that Aiba would be living in a more expensive mansion instead of this ordinary apartment complex; he was a novelist after all, he must have sold many books to have enough to rent a mansion in the heart of Tokyo. Nino found Aiba’s name on the third door. He tried knocking, even though he knew Aiba wasn’t there.   
  
The winter drizzle had started and the air became colder as the sky turned darker. Nino squatted in front of Aiba’s door, not knowing whether Aiba would come home or not. What if he went out of town and wouldn’t come back for a week?   
  
Nino slid his phone from his pocket and considered calling Aiba, but it wouldn’t change anything if Aiba wasn’t in Tokyo. He gripped the phone tightly, resolving not to call him. He looked at the dark sky which covered by thick cloud; it reminded him of a scene in Ohno’s comic where the main character was in the middle of confusion – Nino couldn’t quite grasp the whole situation when he read it – but now he was experiencing the same thing.   
  
“Nino, hey, wake up, are you alright?” He shivered and realized his hands were nearly numb. He didn’t know how long it had been since he fell asleep when somebody touched his shoulder lightly and woke him.   
  
The pair of strong hands shook him gently, a worrisome was clearly heard in his voice. “Nino, are you okay?”   
  
Nino opened his eyes and saw Aiba’s face.He tried to say something but the words wouldn’t form.   
  
“Let’s go inside, you’re freezing.”   
  
Aiba helped him stand and supported him as they walked inside. He sat Nino down on the sofa, took a blanket from his bedroom and covered him with it, and then switched on the heater and disappeared into the kitchen. He returned with two cups of hot coffee and some biscuits on a tray.   
  
“Drink this, it will warm you from the inside, then you can take hot bath,” Aiba said.  
  
“Aiba, I’m sorry,” Nino mumbled.   
  
“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Aiba said, smiling. “Let’s talk later, you’re about to die from cold.”   
  
Nino nodded. He sipped the hot coffee and looked at Aiba; he was as handsome as ever.   
  
“I’ll prepare the bath,” Aiba said, disappearing from sight again.   
  
Nino looked around the room. It was surprisingly neat, with a working desk was in the corner with a computer. A small bookshelf was beside it, stacked with various novels from both the Japanese and world’s writers. Nino hadn’t heard of most of them except for Akutagawa Ryonosuke and Natsume Soseki. There was no TV, only a CD player and speakers. There was a framed photo beside a round clock on the wall – it was Aiba accepting some kind of award. His smile was broad as he looked at the camera; Nino guessed the photo was taken four or five years ago.   
  
“Nino, the bath is ready,” Aiba called.   
  
Nino moved his gaze from the picture on the wall and walked towards the bathroom. “I’m sorry for causing so much trouble,” he mumbled.   
  
“You’ve come all the way to meet me, I’m the one who caused trouble,” Aiba said, handing him a towel.   
  
Nino didn’t take the towel, but hugged Aiba instead. Aiba’s body was enough to warm him; he buried his face into the other’s chest and stayed still for a while. Aiba caressed his head softly and pressed a short kiss to Nino’s cheek.   
  
“Should I join you?” Aiba asked.   
  
Nino shook his head; they hadn’t talked properly and he thought that bathtub wasn’t the right place to have this conversation he wanted to. He freed himself from Aiba’s embrace and was thankful when the other man left him alone to bathe. He spent about fifteen minutes in the warm water, until he had thawed out. Once he left the bathroom, he saw the pajamas waiting for him on top of the washing machine, the outfit completed with a cute hat.   
  
Nino pulled on the too-big pajamas and went to the living room, where Aiba was waiting for him with a glass of wine. He gestured for Nino to sit down beside him.  
  
“You know that I’m not a good drinker,” Nino mumbled, glancing at the glasses.   
  
“I’m always here to keep you safe, drink all you like,” Aiba said, handing the glass to Nino. “Ninomi, would you be my boyfriend?” Aiba asked as Nino sat down beside him.  
  
Nino looked at the other guy for a few minutes before answering. It was weird to hear those words spoken; he had been imagining this moment for years, though he never admitted it to himself.   
  
“I love you,” Aiba said when Nino didn’t respond.   
  
“I’m afraid that I will lose you if I ever own you,” Nino finally answered.   
  
“You’ll never lose me; we’ll never lose each other,” Aiba leaned closer, as if he wanted to count Nino’s eyelashes.   
  
“How can you be so sure?” Nino whispered.   
  
“You must trust me. We have to trust each other.”   
  
Nino smiled and nodded, “I’m still angry that you’ve become a novelist, though.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Aiba said, caressing Nino’s head gently. “I didn’t know how to tell you. I’m sorry that I ended up becoming one.”   
  
“Your novel is interesting,” Nino said. “Maybe I’ll read the rest of your works someday.”   
  
Aiba chuckled and thanked him.   
  
Aiba finished his wine and poured another one; Nino drank half of his and rested his head on Aiba’s shoulder. The digital clock showed 11 in the evening;Nino was feeling sleepy, so he closed his eyes, feeling so content and happy.   
  
“I have to come back to Hakone tomorrow morning,” he mumbled.   
  
“I’ll go with you. Matsumoto san and Ohno sensei’s souvenirs are still in my suitcase,” Aiba said.   
  
Nino had almost forgot about the souvenirs, and he realized it had been two months since he and Aiba went to Hokkaido. They went to bed and held each other under the warm blanket. It was the first time they were sleeping together without questioning their status. The thought made Nino very happy, and he let Aiba curl around him until he fell asleep.   
  
***   
  
“What do you have for lunch?” Jun asked when Nino left his desk for lunch break. It was a nice sunny day at the beginning of spring.   
  
“It’s not cup noodles,” Nino said, waiting for Jun to come with him to have lunch together outside of the studio.   
  
“I can’t believe that Aiba san moved to Hakone just for you,” Jun shook his head.   
  
“He’s not moving here for me,” Nino mumbled. “He just wants to write in a quiet place.”   
  
Jun looked at him with a grin that said ‘you don’t need to be shy.’ Nino knew from Ohno that Jun and Sakurai had also started to see each other. The progress seemed to make Jun happy and all he wanted to talk about was the romantic scenes in the comics he was reading.   
  
Aiba had moved to Hakone about a month ago; he found a nice place on top of the hill where he could write his novel without disruption. His latest novel had launched at the end of winter, gaining praise from readers and critics alike. Nino planned to move in with Aiba in a few weeks, and somehow it made him very nervous.   
  
“Do you know that Ohno Sensei is seeing someone?” Jun asked.   
  
“Ohno sensei? Seeing someone? No way,” Nino chewed his onigiri while shaking his head.   
  
“The porn character he has been drawing is his girlfriend,” Jun whispered.   
  
“You’re imagining things, Jun,” Nino replied.   
  
Nino didn’t tell Jun that he had met the woman once, when she visited Ohno at his studio. Jun was still Ohno’s biggest fan, and his relationship with Sakurai didn’t prevent jealousy. He was such a unique personality, Nino thought privately.   
  
They finished lunch and returned to their desk. Nino checked his phone and found a short message from Aiba.   
  
“Ninomi, what do you want for dinner?’   
  
Nino didn’t know that such a short message could give him a wave of happiness. He typed a reply and sent it to Aiba. It seemed that his days would never be cloudy again, and the spring he used to hate had changed into a beautiful season.   
  
THE END


End file.
